Using operational and integrated analytics to support responses to cholera in North Kivu – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Context of Nord Kivu: conflict and cholera

In the province of North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the last three years have been characterised by an increase in recurring conflict, natural disasters, in particular catastrophic floods and the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano, and multiple Ebola epidemics, resulting in the current displacement of more than two and a half million people (Commission des Mouvements de la Population (CMP), 31 December 2023). Despite the intervention of forces from the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to reinforce national defense, security remains precarious in many areas around Goma and in the territories of Nyiragongo, Rutshuru and Masisi, making it difficult for families to return home. OCHA estimates that more than 620,000 people are currently living in IDP sites on the outskirts of the city of Goma and in neighbouring health zones (13 November 2023). Given the massive influx of people in a precarious environment with limited access to drinking water and sanitation, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of cholera cases, reaching 33,549 suspected cases in 2023. This trend has continued into 2024, already reaching 5,733 cases in the first 11 weeks.

Collaboration of the Integrated Analytics Cell (CAI) and PNECHOL-MD

Between 2021 and 2022, the Integrated Analytics Cell (CAI) developed household surveys (including post-intervention monitoring) which were jointly designed and reviewed by the partners of the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) in the country. In 2023, the CAI (UNICEF, Bluesquare MSF-Epicentre, the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention (MSPHP), the Direction de Surveillance Epidémiologique (DSE) and INSP, WHO and donors including ECHO and the World Bank) strengthened its support and collaboration with the National Programme for the Elimination of Cholera and other Diarrhoeal Diseases (PNECHOL-MD), in order to :

(1) Strengthen line lists: improve the quality of data collection, management and sharing (improve the quality of existing data).

(2) Explain trends and risks: conduct collaborative and integrated analyses when trends or risks are observed and cannot be explained.

(3) Reinforce a comprehensive information base on cases and risk dynamics: develop in-depth investigations linked to line lists that provide detailed information on cholera cases to better understand context-specific risks.